Sweet Sixteen
by Fishberry
Summary: Angelica Pickles' 16th birthday has come & gone, & now she's been swept into a river of endless thoughts. When all her friends leave her behind & an unlikely relationship starts to form, will Angelica be able to combat back?
1. Chapter 1

It was around 8 pm. The lights at the disco were blaring neon colors every which where, & figures of teens & young adults rocking their spines out to the sound of disco music blasting through everyones' eardrums. However, the main princess of that disco was only a few hours of age 16. She had pretty, short blonde hair with light lavender eyeshadow, blood red lipstick, & the most gorgeous blue eyes of anyone in California. Her attire included a long dress of a beautiful shade of purple that just about made it down to the bottom of her feet, & her sleeves were cut at the end so evenly that it made it as though she came out of a fairy tale.

Her name was Angelica Charlotte Pickles.

Surrounding the young woman were her friends- Savannah, Rihanna, Susie, Harold- & her family- Her father Drew, her mother Charlotte, her uncle Stu, her aunt Didi, & her cousins Tommy & Dil.

"Man, this birthday party is way too girly! Why did Aunt Charlotte make us go here anyway?"

"Dil..."

"Don't worry, Mom. Dil always complains when we go somewhere against his will."

Meanwhile, Angelica's friends had a lot of gossip to talk about.

"Hey, Rihanna, I just heard that Kathryn just started dating this guy, & he is SO ugly."

"Oh my god, that guy BETTER not be Nate! He was the ugliest guy in 10th grade last year! Who'd even dare date him anyway?"

While Angelica's life long BFF Susie Charmicheal was at the concession stand, some more rational opinions began spinning in Harold Frumpkin's head.

"You guys seriously don't care about people's personalities anymore but only if look 'hot'? Shameful."

"What's more shameful than some guy interrupting our conversation when it's obvious who's in the right here? Now that's shameful."

"Savannah, let me explain-"

"I don't need an explanation. I just want you get the hell out of my sight." Using her fingers, Savannah gestured Harold out of the conversation. A big mistake Harold made with this is instead of walking forwards to Angelica, he was walking backwards to the concession stand, where he accidentally bumped into Susie while she was handling the punch bowl. With the sudden movement, the punch bowl fell onto Susie's head, spilling all over her hair.

"Oh, I am SO sorry! Are you okay?" Harold cried.

"I-It's fine... my hair already looked terrible." Just then, Angelica walked up to see her friends.

"Susie? Harold? What happened here!?" Angelica exclaimed, anger showing in her cold blue eyes.

"W-Well, I was w-walking away from Savannah, a-and-" Harold tried to explain.

"I already know what happened, Frumpkin. You don't have to remind me again." Angelica really wasn't having it at this point, not even with the disco music keeping everyone in the vibe. "THIS is why you always get rejected. You keep making the same mistakes! Ugh." As Angelica was walking away from the situation, Harold felt a scrape of doubt in his pride. He knew he had some kind of strange feeling towards her, but he didn't know what it was. Just when he was gonna make out what it was, Angelica's mother called out to the rest of the guests.

"Alright, kids, time to sing 'Happy Birthday' to my sweet Angelica!"

"Wait, they still do that now? Hasn't she grown out of it?" Dil questioned.

"Don't you dare."

Once the kids finally surrounded Angelica & the cake, which had a large '16' candle on it & strawberry frosting along the edges of the cake, everyone who had been invited to her party started singing.

 **Happy birthday to you,**

 **happy birthday to you,**

 **happy birthday dear Angelica,**

 **happy birthday to you. 3**

When they finished singing, Drew instructed his daughter to blow out the candles & make a wish, & so she did. The rest was filled with presents, dancing, laughter, & Dil looking for his alien bretheren to pass the time. It's unclear exactly what Angelica wished for, but one could assume that in the events that followed that all Angelica wanted was an enjoyable 365 days as a 16 year old.

But she was wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

 _Stupid clock._ Angelica thought, banging her fist down on the clock to get it to stop making that annoying beeping sound.

Today was the day. Her first day of 11th grade.

She had already gotten her driver's license a few weeks before, so now she had a pitch black SUV to drive herself to school & other whereabouts a 16 year old girl might take herself. She thought about how excited she was that she'd be getting the same classes as her friend Savannah, & how them & Rihanna would be able to partake in many more events now that they were old enough. She then thought about her best friend Susie, & how she was getting even better with her music, & that she had told her days before that she might be able to collaborate in one of her new songs. Afterwards, she thought about her younger cousin Tommy, & how excited he was that he was able to go to high school now, & with off the chart grades & a beautiful girlfriend, Angelica wondered if he would be able to influence the same effect on her.

But then she thought about Harold. Though the past years spent with him were okay at best, but she never felt like they could ever go together, like in a relationship or something similar like that. He always seemed too out of her league for her to like- ginger hair, slightly overweight, acne scattered everywhere on his face- yet he still tagged along on most of her plans. Over a decade has passed & it still hasn't changed.

But Angelica shouldn't be thinking about that now. She had so many great things ahead of her, & her birthday wish was still intact. If only she-

"ANGELICA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL IN YOUR BED!? YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE!"

The sound of her mother's voice sprung from the door to her bedroom & through her eardrums, causing her to snap out of her moment of wonder & begin her sonic-speed preparation for her first day. She didn't even bother to eat breakfast or hop in her car; she just ran straight out the door.

It only took Angelica a few minutes to make her way to the front entrance, ignoring every student that tried to greet her &/or question her speed.

 _Something's really wrong with her..._ Tommy thought as he shrugged off the thought & walked in the building, his cousin already having passed a dozen doors & was now in the 11th grade section of the school.

"Angelica, are you okay? You look like you're ready to pass out." Susie questioned as Angelica was putting her backpack in her locker & took out all the stuff she needed. "Yeah, Susie; I just had a bit of trouble with the time."

"Look, if you REALLY had trouble with the time, you'd be here at the end of the school day."

"No, what I mean is, I was too busy daydreaming to notice it was 30 minutes late."

"I've been noticing that a lot. I always have to call you twice for you to answer me."

"Susie, if you're so worried about me, then we wouldn't be talking at the beginning of class."

"DAMMIT!" Susie made her way into her first class while Angelica made her way into hers. All the while, she thought about how ashamed she was of how she had screwed up on the first day, & it was gonna grow on her as the trimester continued; maybe even the whole year. 'Sonic Girl' they'll call her. She was already self-aware that she was gonna get detention for being late to class. What was Savannah & Rihanna gonna think about this, anyway? & what about Harold? She had to straighten up fast.

But this was just the beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

It was lunch time. As anyone who's ever been to high school knows, lunch time is where all the fun begins. Not just any kind of fun, though: dramatic, fight-induced popularity fun that every student is involved in. Angelica was one of those students.

Now, of course, high school drama doesn't start immediately on the first day, but there are always some whispers & mentions of earlier dramas, the main category in question being romance. Almost every student in the school had at least one crush, usually the popular hotties on the football team or the dorky dudes who only looked dorky so that too many girls wouldn't crushing on them at the same time. Angelica had no set crush; she had been with Sean & Darryl before back in middle school, but the relationships never lasted long & she didn't have a strong connection to either of them.

But for Harold, it was different. Though she didn't know it at the time, he practically saved Angelica's life when he became her assistent. Since then, they have been hanging out from the borders of the middle school & into the dark depths of high school. Maybe he is the one...

NO. He CAN'T be. He's just not her type. Hot girls belong with hot boys, & run of the mill girls belong with run of the mill boys.

It was becoming more & more obvious each day that Angelica was starting to like Harold, but Harold had been liking her since pre-school. Even though he really cared about her, Angelica tried to hide it for so long it has become unbearable; even Susie couldn't help her anymore. Maybe she really did love...

NO. HOLD YOUR HORSES. There's no humane way possible Angelica would like a guy like Harold, let alone 'love' one. Especially considering Savannah & Rihanna would blab about it constantly that it would drive Angelica insane to no end. She had to think fast. But before she could, she had to gobble up her lunch & pretend nothing happened while she wasted 5 minutes in her train of thought.

"Ay, Angelica, you gonna talk?" Rihanna questioned, snapping Angelica out of La-La-Land.

"Yeah! Of course I'm gonna talk! Do you think I'm brain-dead!?"

"Actually, Rihanna wanting to make sure you were eating & not daydreaming."

"But I AM eating..." Angelica took a bite of her mashed potatoes & gulped it down. "... & daydreaming." She then put her fists against her cheek & elbows on the table as she bought another ticket to the Daydream Express.

"I guess we could just leave her alone, Savannah."

"Why would we? She already wasted 5 minutes!"

"Maybe then we can waste our own 5 minutes daydreaming so it'll be fair. Say, how have you & Atticus been doing?"

"Atticus!? We don't EVER talk about him!"

"But you guys are in love, remember?"

"Didn't you hear me, Rihanna? THERE IS NO ATTICUS!"

Disheartened, but not letting it show on her face, Rihanna went back to her lunch while Savannah avoided talking to her, & she would continue not communicating with her until the next day when they met up at the first hour of school.

Angelica's thoughts got even harder to control as the day progressed. Everytime she saw his ginger hair or genuine smile past the hallway, her heart boomed proudly as if it were to dash out of her chest hollering: 'ANGELICA'S GOT A CRUSH! ANGELICA'S GOT A CRUSH!' She couldn't even get to completing half of her homework until 10 o'clock at night & almost time for bed.

Angelica was losing her mind. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say? Should she ignore Harold the whole day & forget his existence entirely? No. That would be too rude. Should she try hanging out with him the whole day & forget about her friends' existence? That wouldn't work, either. She needed time for all of her friends in hopes of earning a good reputation from the general public.

& besides, amidst all this drama, will it even have a happy ending?


	4. Chapter 4

Tommy Pickles was having an eventful life of his own now that he was in high school with all the other 'big kids'. Not only were his grades superior to most of his classmates, but his control over the group he'd been in since he was a baby hadn't changed a bit. He was still that genuine, headstrong leader his friends always admired, but there was one member of that group in particular who took her admiration a little further...

Tommy & Kimi Wantanabe-Finster had been in their romantic little relationship since they were 12, even though they had known each other since they were babies. The two were 14 now, & their love was still going strong, with every problem they faced being resolved in a short amount of time. Though they were too young to be getting a little more intermediate with their romance, their warm hugs & tender kisses proved it all.

Now, unlike his older cousin Angelica, Tommy's first day of 9th grade went pretty smoothly with barely anything exciting happening except for the stack of homework he had to do afterwards, which didn't even take him that long. At least he felt somewhat at home when he was with most of his friends. His best friend, Chuckie Finster, had already been in high school for a year, & was now in 10th grade & participating in the city's baseball team.

The only other members of the gang besides Kimi that were Tommy's age, Phil & Lil DeVille, still had that 'magnetic bond', but they were still finding their own paths to walk upon. Phil had finally starting maturing from the 'immature slob' he previously was, & was still fairly nice to his friends & sister, & had applied for the school's football team. Lil, on the other hand, was a calm, collected soul who didn't mind getting a little immature at times, as she was partcipating in the city's soccer team. At the same time, she was also in love with Chuckie, & the two were the only other members besides Tommy & Kimi who dated each other, while Phil was busy dating Wally.

The youngest member of the gang & Tommy's little brother was Dylan Pickles, though everyone he knew called him Dil. He started out as a drooly baby who always depended on his older brother, then later evolved into a more mature kid who became the main weirdo of the group, & now he was his father Stu's apprentice at the Pickles toy company, though it would still be a long way to go before Dil would be able to design good toys. He had also gotten a new hat last Christmas, which instead of the purple & orange design or the red & blue design before that, it was yellow with bold green zig zags embedded in the hat. He hardly ever took it off since.

The next day passed like a blur. So did the third day. & the fourth. Then the fifth came & Tommy & his friends had the next 48 hours to do whatever they wanted.

Now it was the sixth day. Tommy barely expected anything crazy to happen, as with the rest of the students who intended there, including Angelica & her friends. This expection would unfortunately dissappear, as Kimi shoulder was grasped by a special somebody.

"Hey, boot girl! You're looking good today!"

"Thank you...?"

"Let's face it, Kimi, I've got the strength & you got the agility. We should bang some time."

Kimi obtained a familiar sickness in her stomach. This special somebody in question was her ex-boyfriend Z, who shockingly was still attending the school district after some 'painful' negotiations with Vice Principal Pangborn.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Come on, babe; let's get away from this idiot."

"First of all, since when did you start calling her 'babe', & second of all, when did you start calling ME 'idiot'!?"

"One, since we started dating, & two, since she stopped dating you." Tommy gave Z a smirk of irritation.

"You think I'd be that worthless to be called such a thing!? Let me tell you something, Tommy. I had 3 different girlfriends before Kimi. First, I was dating this girl named Trixie, who I'd known since 4th grade, then we broke up & she started dating this other guy who had an ex-girlfriend named Julia. So we started dating after that, that is, until she ditched me for a 'better guy' & so I met this hot girl named Melissa, who I only dated for one day before she announced her family was moving."

Tommy facepalmed. "& that's when you found Kimi."

Z shook his head. "Actually, no! I meant 4 girlfriends! The last one before Kimi was that one Hebrew girl Rachel; you know her, right?"

The lavender haired teen gasped. Rachel, the girl he met in that Hebrew school & used to cover up his love for Kimi, was once dating Z! How could this have happened!? _It's probably just a coincidence,_ he thought. _I didn't meet Rachel until after Kimi broke up with Z. If there's any chance she could have stayed with that son of a butt, I probably wouldn't have to deal with this before school._

Before Z could continue, Kimi tried to get a response out of her boyfriend. "Er, Tommy? We don't really need to waste our time on THIS guy. Our education is more important."

"Says the girl who once trusted me for my charity work." Z blurted out before Tommy could speak. "Now out of my way!"

"No one cares about the few good things you've done, Z. You used me, just as you did with your other girlfriends, &-"

The spiky green haired teen shoved Kimi to the floor with a _squeak_ from the school floor, while the other students watching just snickered in laughter. Z was grabbing everyone's eyeballs & forcing them towards his view at this point. Tommy immediately became infuriated.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY GIRLFRIEND LIKE THAT!"

"Oh, her?" Z replied, kicking the plum haired girl with his foot. "Oh, I nearly FORGOTTEN she was your _girlfriend!_ I'm SO sorry!"

Tommy's steaming anger only got hotter with the next line he spoke out loud. "Don't be lying to us, Z; we all know what you done, & Kimi was right about you using her. So do us all a favor & _GET THE HELL OUT._ "

Instead of getting another reply, the lavendered hair teen just got shoved down like Z did to Kimi a minute ago. Seeing his girlfriend still on the floor, her body curled up, her velvet brown eyes observing everything going on, Tommy gently grabbed her & started stroking her soft hair, all the while listening to her sniffles of what seemed to be pain.

"It's okay."

"Oh, well if it isn't Mr. Director on the floor with the girlfriend!" One of the kids blurted out.

"What a waste of space!" Another kid teased.

"I vote immature slob!" Another chimed in.

Tommy couldn't take it anymore.

 **"CAN YOU A-HOLES JUST SHUT THE HELL UP FOR ONCE!?"**

Let's just say that things didn't end well after that. Not only did Z get a week of suspension, but Tommy got 2 weeks of suspension & got grounded for the same amount of time. Though Tommy was slightly glad that he didn't have to deal with those annoying students anymore for the time being, it didn't help that he was still grounded from doing anything fun until his suspension was over. What worried him the most, however, was that Kimi was gonna have to spend a week of school cornered & belittled by her ex, & if there was anything Tommy despised the most, it was seeing his love's soul being torn apart little by little until it was a billion, unrecoverable shreds of what would've been love & appreciation.

& to be fair, the same couldn't be said for his cousin, either.


	5. Chapter 5

Angelica & Savannah haven't always been the bitter buddies they are now. When they first met in preschool, they quickly became best friends, having almost the exact same interests. No one expected anything to go wrong since then; not even Susie questioned her best friend having another best friend as long as she wasn't abusing it.

Then, once Harold caught note of Angelica & Savannah's friendship, he immediately became aroused with the little blonde girl. He already had a slight crush on her before, but little did Angelica know that Harold & Savannah were actually close friends since infanthood before he met her. Now his love was stronger than ever with Savannah by his side.

However, life wasn't sunshine, rainbows & unicorns like every Disney movie makes you believe. Savannah certainly had some things up her sleeve, & these things were eventually revealed at the beginning of third grade.

Savannah had attended Angelica's 8th birthday party that summer, & after the party concluded, Charlotte found the black haired girl's special pink hair clip she owned since she was 3 under the dining table, which was covered in cake crumbs & used napkins after the events of the party. When she asked her daughter who it belonged to, Angelica just shrugged at her mother.

"It's probably mine. Just put it on my dresser."

Because of Angelica's carelessness, Savannah eventually found out her best friend's betrayal on the first day of third grade, where she coincidentally was wearing Savannah's hair clip. The young girl immediately put two & two together & concluded that Angelica had stolen her precious hair clip after she lost it at her birthday party, where she already had plenty of gifts from her friends & family. She needed to confront her.

"ANGELICA!"

"Yeah, Savannah?"

"You know what you did! Look at yourself!"

The blonde haired girl looked at herself in the little foam mirror propped up inside her locker as to obey what Savannah had ordered her to do. It took a split second to glance at the pink hair clip attached to the left side of her hair- which appeared on the right side in the mirror- but she didn't make any connections towards the accessory whatsoever.

"Oh, well, Savannah, I don't know what you're talking about. I look just fine."

It was then that the black haired girl finally felt the urge to lash out at her.

"ARE YOU BLIND!? You stole my very favorite pink hair clip! You know how special it is to me! How could you!?"

"I... I.. I'm so sorry... Savannah... I-I swear I'll never do such a thing again."

 _"Then just give me the hair clip back."_

Angelica shook. Her lip trembled. She didn't know what to do. She loved the hair clip dearly, but she didn't want to lose the only best friend she had besides Susie. So the decision was made.

"H-Here, Savannah, you can have your clip back. I-I'm r-really sorry."

She removed the hair clip from her hair & gave it to Savannah, but before she could turn away, her best friend spoke.

"Listen, Angelica, steal anything, & I mean ANYTHING from me ONE MORE TIME, & you will LIVE to regret it!"

The blonde haired girl nearly froze, but forced herself to speak.

"Okay, Savannah. I promise I'll never, EVER make you mad ever again!"

& that promise stuck. From that moment on, Angelica was always very cautious when hanging out with Savannah, or their new friend Rihanna who had moved to California that previous year. Intially, when Rihanna joined the group, Savannah was hoping she'd replace Susie. Sadly, she didn't meet Savannah's expectations in the end, since she ended up being the main doofus of the group.

Now, the 3 young women were 11th grade. Thousands of new responsibilities were being thrown at them like sticks at a pinata. But these responsibilities were even stronger when directed towards Angelica. It would only take a second for these responsibilities to be inflicted onto Savannah.

"SAVANNAH!"

The black haired girl groaned when she spotted her friend rush over. Whatever it was she needed to tell her, it would be useless.

"What is it that you want, Angelica?"

"We need to talk."

Angelica guided Savannah to the nearby corner, where they could successfully negotiate in private.

"Listen, Savannah. I know you're trying to be cautious with me & Harold's relationship, but you gotta understand that you can't always have him to yourself all the time. If you 'like like' him, that's fine, & I'll accept it, but the truth is... I... I... I..."

"First of all, I DON'T like him, & second of all, why do you need to privately speak to me about something so small? You know I still care about my education."

Angelica's brain finally directed to what she wanted to say.

"It's just, I LOVE HIM! That's it! I said it! I love Harold Wayne Frumpkin! I know you didn't want to hear it, but it's true, & I can't hold in anymore because if I did, someone would find out! I know you've been rude to me the past few years, but since we made up, I'm convinced that you have the ability to change! I mean, look at you: you're so beautiful! I bet tons of guys are falling for you! Give me a hug-"

"Get off me."

Savannah forcefully shoved Angelica off her slim body, causing a tidal wave of shock to run through her mind as the seconds that followed passed at the speed of light.

"W-What?"

"Look, Angelica, we are **not** BFFs anymore. That was SO 1st grade. This is the 11th grade now, & I am rich & popular & Atticus'- you know what? Let's not talk about him. The point is, I don't need **you** making my life a living hell because I am SICK OF IT. I am as sick of YOU as I am sick of HAROLD. Heck, I'm even sick of RIHANNA. With that in mind, I think it's the perfect time to say... goodbye."

Angelica had just enough strength out of her tampered soul to wave 'goodbye' once more, not knowing if this was the last or 100th time she had to do this. But Savannah was quick enough clear the confusion with one simple word.

"Forever."

The young lady's heart effortlessly melted into a sticky, worthless puddle as she saw her ex-best friend walk away for the last time. She tried to hold back tears, but even a strong, independent woman like her couldn't block it for much long before she had to break loose & spill all her feelings out in the form of salty liquid.

Then, she heard the bell rang. It was lunch time again. Savannah would probably be sitting with Rihanna again, but this, there'd be an empty seat.

That seat belonged to Angelica Charlotte Pickles.

Angelica sulked in her chair, trying her best to eat the food sitting lifeless on her tray, but the muscles responsible for her digestion were too weak from losing her best friend to even attempt at crunching up the food into tiny bits. Just as if it seemed all hope was lost, a familiar face approached the mostly empty table.

"Angelica?"

The blonde haired girl snapped out of her sulking & turned her head upwards. It was Harold.

"Yes, Harold?"

"Is it okay if I sit here? I would've sat at Savannah's table, but she kicked me out before I had the chance."

Some of Angelica's hope began to restore itself. _Savannah sure is a bitch,_ she thought.

"Uh-huh."

Harold prompted himself to have a seat next to his crush, making her blush with dignity. She felt like she just could tell him she loved him right then & there, but with all things, there comes a price, & Angelica wasn't gonna risk it for the sake of her romance.

"So... what's going on?"

Angelica sighed.

"Why would YOU wanna know?"

"Because I care about you. You don't have to tell me, but you can if you want to."

Angelica thought for a moment. If Harold really cared about her for THAT long, she should probably start caring for him. So she finally made up her mind.

"So, you know how Savannah's been kinda... unpleasant recently?"

Harold nodded his head.

"Well, today before lunch, I finally learned why..."

It took a lot of heart & soul to tell the ginger haired boy what happened, but Angelica managed to tell him the truth for the first time in forever. She never had any real reasons to be around him other than to please his secret passion for her, but now that she actually had a reason- to make the two of them happy- it filled her heart with a warm feeling.

It took at least a moment or two for Harold to translate what she had just explained to him, but he luckily replied in time.

"Good God, Angelica... I didn't if you even had enough blood, sweat & tears to be able to get through such a thing. I'm honestly shocked."

"Heh... I'm pretty shocked myself."

It was at that exact moment when Harold put his hand on Angelica's & held it firmly as he spoke.

"But what I'm really proud of is that you had just had enough strength left to tell me, & I'm thankful for that. But I truly think that you should be thankful for having a chance to live, because many souls don't get that chance to be the beautiful young woman you are."

For once in a lifetime, Angelica smiled. Perhaps she didn't make amends with Savannah in the end, but at least she was thankful to still have Harold by her side. Maybe now she finally had the opportunity to confess her true emotions to him.

But there would still be a long way to go before that ever happened.


End file.
